Naturally, it was not just Old Liu who was busy planning for the future.
The counties in Nanzhong are not all poisonous and poverty-stricken places as generally thought.
Among the four counties that were not under the control of Lao Liu, Yizhou County, later known as Jianning County, was undoubtedly the best among them. It was rich in salt ponds, fields, fisheries, and gold, silver, and livestock products.
The Yong family has been sealed here since Yong Chi. It must be said that the great ancestor Liu Bang repaid evil with kindness, which is really worthy of his family.
The Yong family's mansion occupies a vast area, much larger than Lao Liu's Hanzhong palace.
The luxury of its house and the extravagance of its furnishings are beyond the comparison of Old Liu who only bought some brocade clothes and furs.
Yong Kai grew up in this environment since he was a child, and he was already arrogant. The prefects sent by the central government to Yizhou County were all nothing in front of the Yong family.
If the Yong family doesn't nod, the so-called prefect will not be able to implement any of his decrees.
Yong Kai liked Liu Zhang very much because Liu Zhang was kind and gentle. This kind of kindness was highly praised by the powerful and unambitious scholar-bureaucrats.
Because of Liu Zhang's kindness and loose laws, it was more for these nobles. The most typical example was his condonation of Dongzhou soldiers' rampage.
But under this kind of "mercy", how many people were ravaged and oppressed was not a question that the kind Liu Zhang would consider.
The Yong family was very prosperous during the Liu Zhang period. At that time, Liu Zhang basically adopted a laissez-faire attitude toward Nanzhong.
However, when Liu Bei took over Yizhou, he seemed to want to unilaterally change the status quo.
First, the so-called "Governor of Jijiang" was established, and Deng Fang, the governor of Zhuti County, was appointed to also take charge of this post. Although the governor's office was only in name only, it was arranged in the northernmost Zhuti County and had no actual binding force on the other four counties in the south.
But the meaning of Liu Bei's move is already obvious.
Shi Xie and Bu Zhi under Sun Quan in Jiaozhou had long been in contact with the Yong family.
They sent people to warn Yong Kai that Liu Bei had lofty ambitions and was definitely not comparable to the previous lords of Yizhou, so he should be on guard early.
It has to be said that although Jiangdong Wu Laoer pulls his hips in front of him, he is indeed a master in secretly engaging in conspiracy tactics such as penetration and backstabbing, and fanning the evil wind to light up the will-o'-the-wisp.
What kind of lord there is, he gathers what kind of ministers he has.
Yong Kai didn't believe it at that time because no one had ever thought of Nanzhong before.
I remember when Wang Mang mobilized 300,000 troops and civilians from Bashu, and after three years of campaigning, they were still unable to pacify the army. If he dared to attack Nanzhong, he would fall into the quagmire of war, and he would often surrender and rebel again. It would be good if Nanzhong did not cause trouble. Who would take the initiative in a thankless manner? provoke?
However, out of admiration and trust for Shi Xie, especially Bu Zhao's ability, Yong Kai still followed his advice and paid a lot of money to bribe Liu Bei's close servants.
Unexpectedly, unexpectedly, as they said, after Liu Bei set Hanzhong in the north, he actually set his sights on Nanzhong!
Do you want the Yong family to pay taxes honestly, or even accept central control and obey the management of the officials stationed there?
There is no door!
The prefect was upright, and he often disobeyed the Yong family's wishes. He always talked about his lord, and Yong Kai had long wanted to touch him.
This time it was just right, so I just did the opposite.
The only fly in the ointment was that Liu Bei's personal attendant had already escaped, otherwise I would have been able to continue to find out his specific arrangements for Nanzhong.
But this is just a minor issue.
A beautiful maid next to Yong Kai brought the wine cup to his mouth. He took a sip and said to the person opposite: "Brother Meng, what do you think about raising an army?"
Opposite him, a man with a beard, nearly eight feet tall and broad-shouldered, was drinking and eating meat while being served by a beautiful woman. He was Meng Huo.
The Meng family was the only family that Yong Kai valued in Yizhou County. Firstly, the Meng family was unparalleled among the Yi people. Secondly, the Meng family always looked up to the Yong family, and the Yong family reciprocated the favor. The two families were basically a community of interests.
The leader of this generation, Meng Huo, was not as rough as his appearance, and he had a good personal relationship with Yong Kai.
At this time, he wiped his mouth and smiled at Yong Kai: "Brother, do you really think that the people from Jiangdong are reliable? Haven't you heard that they were defeated in Jingzhou and lost their troops and generals. Even Sun Quan was almost killed by the police, and now he has become a lame general." "
Yong Kai didn't take it seriously: "There will always be victory or defeat when using troops. Jiangdong is rich and prosperous, so this loss will not hurt our bones. After raising the army, we will return to Soochow, and Shi Xie has promised to give me any support..."
"Haha, I'm afraid that when a fight breaks out, Jiang Dong will only give 'any support except actual help'." Meng Huo looked very disdainful and looked down on Jiang Dong.
Hearing this, Yong Kai felt that the words were wrong and couldn't help but frown: "Why, even Brother Meng is afraid of Liu Bei?"
Meng Huo laughed loudly and pushed the maid away: "Brother, who do you think I am, Meng Huo? Even if the Overlord is alive, if he dares to invade this land, I will dare to lead his troops to fight!
"I am advising my brother not to place any hope in Jiangdong. Don't say that those insidious rats will not send troops to help us. Even if we send troops, what will it do? Why don't we gather more troops and train more and we can win the battle ourselves?" Fang is the right way.”
Yong Kai then relaxed his brows and asked hurriedly: "So, does Brother Meng agree to the raising of troops?"
"Yizhou County, we have always said the same thing. We, our brothers, rule the Han people, and I lead the Yiyue people. How can we let Liu Bei take whatever he wants?"
After Meng Huo finished speaking, he drank the wine in the cup and slapped it on the table. The stone cup shattered with the sound: "I will go to summon all the ministries to prepare for the gathering of people to cooperate with Brother Yong's uprising. This time, it must be given to Liu Bei." A lesson!”
"Okay!" Yong Kai slapped his thigh and raised his glass: "What Brother Meng said is true. If Liu Bei dares to send troops here, they will never come back! Please!"
The maid hurriedly got Meng a new cup, and he took it and raised the cup: "Please!"
The two drank from each other, looked at each other and laughed, not worried about the upcoming war.
Originally, Liu Bei wanted to defend against Sun Wu in the east and Cao Wei in the north. Now that he has gone through successive battles, does he still have food? How many more soldiers are there?
In addition, their army was not familiar with the local environment. When they raised their troops, it was just after the resurrection of all things, and the poisonous insects, snakes and wild beasts in the forest were enough for them.
If you can't win this battle, you should stop being the head of the Yong family, and Meng Huo should stop being the barbarian king. They might as well go to Chengdu together to lead Liu Bei's horse and kick it...
…
They were confident, and Liu Chan was even more confident. For no other reason than the name of the man in front of him - Zhuge Kongming.
As long as the time comes to persuade Old Liu and get him to agree that Uncle Zhuge will preside over the battle of Nanzhong, everything will be safe.
At this time, Uncle Zhuge basically did not lead the troops personally, but was engaged in logistics. I am afraid that Old Liu did not fully understand his amazing military talents.
By then Fazheng should be well, and he will be free to Pingnan.
Historically, Prime Minister Zhuge began to pacify Nanzhong in March 225. In May, he crossed Lu and went deep into the barren area. By the autumn, the war was over.
At that time, the prime minister had a hellish mess in his hands. Yiling was defeated, the elites were burned out, there were not many strong generals left, the warehouses were empty, Soochow was clamoring to advance westward every day, and Cao Wei sent people to persuade them to surrender every day...
The prime minister only had one year to restore the country's strength. After sending Deng Zhi to appease Wu Laoer, he resolutely sent out troops and defeated Nanzhong with a bad hand.
What's more, now?
"What the prince just said about the strategy in the south is very good, and it coincides with Liang." Zhuge Liang said with a smile.
After the meeting, Liu Chan and Zhuge Kongming sat and talked for a long time.
Liu Chan smiled and said nothing when he heard this, and thought to himself: "That must coincide with each other. I just repeated what you would have done with a little more twist..."
He was about to say something modest, but then he heard Zhuge Liang laugh and say: "There is another person who also thinks the same. The prince is not in Chengdu, and Liang often discusses military affairs with him in his spare time these days. I think this man is quite talented, so why don't we invite him to discuss it together?" How are you?"
"Oh? That's great, but I don't know who can be praised by Uncle Zhuge like this?" Liu Chan was very interested when he heard this. He was so short of talents.
Zhuge Liang pointed to the east with his feather fan: "Prince, does he know the five permanent members of the Ma family in Jingzhou?"
The enthusiasm on Liu Chan's face froze when he heard this. He had already thought of someone... Couldn't he?
"'Ma's Wuchang, white eyebrows are the best', I naturally know, is Uncle Zhuge talking about Ma Liang and Ma Jichang?"
Zhuge Liang gently shook his feather fan and said with a smile: "It goes without saying that Ji Chang is talented, but his younger brother is also very talented. He often discusses military affairs with Liang late at night. This man is the Chengdu County Magistrate, his name is Ma Su Ma Youchang."
Liu Chan: "..."
(End of chapter)
